Chapter 872

New Year's Eve, morning.

When Li Luo woke up and opened his eyes, he was still half-hugging Ying Chanxi, who was sleeping beside him on the bed, his entire left side numb.

He reluctantly pulled his left arm out from under Ying Chanxi's head, grimacing for a while until sensation returned, then woke up the two girls.

Yan Zhusheng had been worn out by Li Luo the night before and was utterly exhausted; she had fallen asleep shortly after Ying Chanxi entered the room.

Now she had fully recovered, looking energetic, and immediately sat up and got out of bed to wash up.

After a quick wash and change of clothes, the three went downstairs together, greeted Grandma, who was already eating breakfast, then headed out for their morning run.

Early in the morning, there were hardly any people on the internal roads of Li Family Village—mostly elderly residents, who went to bed early and woke up by five or six due to short sleep duration.

Some even woke up before four.

Li Luo, with his Memory Palace, knew the situation of every household clearly; when he encountered familiar people during his jog, he raised his hand to greet them politely.

What Li Luo and the two girls hadn't expected was that when they finished running around the village and returned to the courtyard gate, they found another car had arrived in the yard.

The car was familiar—it was Xu Youyu's BMW, just pulling in, its engine still running.

"Hello~"

Seeing the three return from their run, Xu Youyu immediately rolled down her window and waved cheerfully: "Surprise? Shocked?"

"Did the sun rise in the west?" Li Luo walked over, astonished, reached through the window, and pinched Xu Youyu's cheek. "Is this really you? Or someone pretending?"

"Get lost." Xu Youyu swatted his hand away irritably. "Do you really think this could be fake? Are you going to pinch here too to verify your identity?"

As she spoke, she patted her own chest.

"Well, that wouldn't be impossible."

"Hmph~"

Xu Youyu turned off the engine, pulled the handbrake, opened the door, stepped out, walked to the trunk, took out her luggage, then looked at Li Luo. "Come help me—I brought some stuff, carry it upstairs."

"What is it?" Li Luo walked over and glanced—there was indeed a lot. "Xixi, Zhusheng, come help—I can't carry all this alone."

Saying that, Li Luo began hauling things out; Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng followed, pulling various items from Xu Youyu's trunk.

All were common New Year goods, but the quantity was truly excessive.

"Why did you bring so much, Senior?" Ying Chanxi asked as she carried things upstairs.

"It wasn't my idea," Xu Youyu said helplessly. "My parents already made me pack some stuff, then my grandparents added even more—ended up like this."

"The New Year goods I bought for you earlier—did you deliver them to your grandparents?" Li Luo asked.

On the 13th, Li Luo had taken Ying Chanxi and the others to the New Year market and bought plenty, including some meant for Xu Youyu to deliver to her elders.

"Relax, I handed everything to them," Xu Youyu yawned. "By the way, where's my room?"

"Next door," Ying Chanxi said. "I'll show you."

"Has to be next door?" Xu Youyu sighed. "Xixi, you're so stingy."

"Mainly because there's still one empty bedroom on the third floor—better to leave it for Uncle Xu and Aunt Cui," Ying Chanxi insisted. "Come with me, Senior—Zhusheng is staying there too."

Xu Youyu sighed and started to follow Ying Chanxi, but Li Luo stopped them. "Have breakfast first—Youyu, have you eaten? If not, eat with us, then put your stuff away."

"I'm kinda hungry," Xu Youyu patted her stomach. "I came straight here after waking up—no time for breakfast."

The three girls followed Li Luo to the second-floor living room and sat at the dining table.

Grandma had already smiled over, serving white porridge for the three girls and her precious grandson, then handed them pickled mustard greens and fermented tofu, and went to fetch another bowl of century egg and scrambled eggs.

All were dishes Li Luo and the others loved.

Li Luo finished his porridge fastest, slurping down a bowl in seconds, then served himself another.

By the time Li Luo finished two bowls, the three girls had barely eaten half.

So Li Luo got up again, organized Xu Youyu's New Year goods—put fridge items in the fridge, placed others on the coffee table, and called Grandma when unsure where to store something.

When most of it was sorted, the three girls had finished breakfast.

Ying Chanxi stood up and took Xu Youyu to the next room to put away her luggage.

But as soon as Xu Youyu put her things down, she collapsed into bed and went straight back to sleep.

Ying Chanxi didn't bother her, returning to Li Luo's side.

Li Luo had no other plans for the morning—because he'd been distracted by Yan Zhusheng last night, he simply went back to his room to type.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng followed him eagerly.

It wasn't that Ying Chanxi needed to cling to Li Luo—she just feared her little sister would disturb his work and needed to supervise him.

The three huddled in Li Luo's small room—he typed while chatting with them.

Until just after nine, Ying Chanxi said: "Mom sent a message—she's already posted her New Year greeting video. You two need to post yours too; the Douyin staff have been nagging."

"Mm." Yan Zhusheng replied, pulled out her phone, and uploaded the pre-recorded New Year video to her account.

Li Luo did the same, quickly uploading his video, then added a new chapter to both his novels, mentioning the Douyin update in the author's note.

【Wow, if you update Douyin, you add extra chapters? Then maybe you should update Douyin more often.】

【New book? New book? New book? I want the new book! Why do I still have to wait five days?】

【Yan Zhusheng posted a New Year video too—and Qingjie did too. Did you three plan this?】

【What if you all spend every holiday together?】

【Don't say it—I'm heartbroken.】

The chapter comments were lively.

The Douyin comment section quickly erupted.

Yuan Wanqing even mentioned in her video that she'd be appearing on the Spring Festival Gala this year, reminding everyone to tune in.

"I've got to go downstairs," Ying Chanxi suddenly stood up after watching Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng post their videos. "Lin Yi called me to play mahjong. Zhusheng, you coming?"

"No," Yan Zhusheng shook her head, stealing a glance at Li Luo.

Ying Chanxi huffed, grabbed Yan Zhusheng's arm, and dragged her out.

"What are you doing?"

"You've got no good intentions—I'm taking you downstairs to play mahjong."

"You're so stingy, sister," Yan Zhusheng said. "Are you really that afraid I'll be alone with Li Luo?"

"You know perfectly well," Ying Chanxi snapped. "Don't disturb Li Luo while he's writing. Aren't you willing to play mahjong with Lin Yi?"

"I'm powerless against you, sister."

After the two girls went downstairs, the room grew instantly quiet.

Li Luo didn't care whether Yan Zhusheng stayed or not—he wouldn't do anything even if she did. He'd used up two bullets last night; today was better off being less reckless.

What if Xu Youyu needed it too?

He couldn't get drained by Yan Zhusheng alone—he had to spread it evenly.

Besides, his new book was due to be released in just a few days; he'd planned to come clean these very days… If he couldn't resolve it quickly, he'd have to rely on his backlog to carry him through the early phase.

Thinking of this, Li Luo pushed himself harder, typing furiously—he'd get his backlog up to three hundred thousand words first.

That way, at least he wouldn't have to worry before the official launch.

…

He worked straight through the morning until past eleven, writing over ten thousand words, when Ying Chanxi called him downstairs for lunch.

After a quick tidy-up, Li Luo went downstairs to the second floor, where Xu Youyu had already been woken by Ying Chanxi and was now sitting on the sofa, eyes closed, resting.

Only when Li Luo sat beside her did she open her eyes and yawn.

"What time did you go to sleep last night?" Li Luo asked, amused. "A whole morning's sleep still isn't enough?"

"What do you know? I'm preparing for New Year's Eve tonight," Xu Youyu shot back, glancing at him. "After I eat lunch, I'll take a nap, then stay awake all afternoon until several hours past midnight."

"So you're pretty clever, huh."

"Exactly~"

"Alright, let's eat," Lin Xiuhong and the others brought out hot dishes from the kitchen—some leftovers from last night, some freshly stir-fried.

Once two large tables were piled high with food, everyone gathered together.

Zhao Shuhan, who had stayed overnight here, joined Chen Lu at the table; after lunch, Chen Lu would go with Zhao Shuhan to his family's home for the New Year.

But during lunch, Zhao Shuhan suddenly noticed someone new at the neighboring table—a very pretty girl.

After lunch ended, he couldn't help asking Chen Lu: "Who's that girl? Is she your relative too? I didn't see her here yesterday."

"Oh, you mean Youyu?" Chen Lu glanced at Xu Youyu, then her expression turned strange. After careful thought, she whispered to Zhao Shuhan: "That… she's my brother's wife."

Zhao Shuhan: "……???"

The words were simple, but the implications were explosive—Zhao Shuhan froze for a long while.

Chen Lu thought the guy was just envious of Li Luo, so she pinched Zhao Shuhan's waist hard as a warning: "Don't even think about it. If you try to copy him, I'll be the first to kill you."

"Cough… cough… stop it," Zhao Shuhan quickly patted Chen Lu's hand, soothing her. "How could I? You know me better than anyone. It's just… your cousin is really too…"

"Ah, his situation is complicated and takes too long to explain—I'll tell you while you're driving," Chen Lu waved her hand. "Guaranteed to keep you awake."

…

After seeing off Chen Lu and Zhao Shuhan, Li Xuefeng stood at the courtyard gate, lost in thought, before returning to the second floor much later.

"Xuefeng, already missing them?" Lin Xiuhong chuckled as she sat beside Li Xuefeng. "Shuhan's a good guy—your LuLu's landed herself a gold-digger husband."

"Don't be silly," Li Xuefeng smoothed her complex emotions and smiled, shaking her head. "He can't compare to your Li Luo."

"Ah… this kid never gives anyone peace," Lin Xiuhong sighed, glancing at the three girls sitting on the other side of the sofa—her heart filled with both joy and worry.

She had no idea how that brat Li Luo planned to handle this mess.

But just as Lin Xiuhong was worrying about it, Xu Youyu had already slipped upstairs into Li Luo's room and crawled under his covers for a nap.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng stayed behind to play mahjong with Lin Xiuhong on the second floor.

Li Luo returned to his room as well, resuming his seat at the desk to keep typing.

But the mahjong game ended by three in the afternoon, when Lin Xiuhong had to go help in the kitchen.

With Chen Lu gone, the younger generation had no one to lead conversation or games—the living room felt lifeless.

Chen Yonglin and Li Xiang had both returned to their own rooms next door to play games.

Chen Sijia only spoke when Chen Lu was around; otherwise, she stayed silent.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng returned to Li Luo's bedroom on the third floor.

Soon, Li Luo's bed was filled by the three girls.

Xu Youyu, woken by the crowding, sighed and complained: "Aren't your rooms next door? Why do you insist on squeezing in here?"

"Aren't you the same?" Yan Zhusheng reminded her. "If you want to sleep, go back to your own room. Here, you'll have to listen to Li Luo typing—can you even sleep?"

"Why can't I sleep? The typing sound helps me sleep," Xu Youyu insisted. "Where's Xixi? Your room's right next door—why are you crowding in here?"

"I'm not leaving," Ying Chanxi said, lying at the edge of the bed. When I'm here, you two dare to touch Li Luo. If I left, what might happen in this room—I didn't dare imagine.

Li Luo found the three girls crammed onto the bed amusing. He thought about tonight—four people would have to squeeze into one bed; this small bed couldn't handle it.

So he got up, went out, brought back two mattress pads, and laid them on the floor beside the bed.

Without floor mats, this tiny room simply couldn't fit four people.

"So who sleeps on the floor?" Yan Zhusheng asked the soul-question.

"I will," Li Luo said helplessly. "You three sleep on the bed."

"But if you sleep on the floor," Yan Zhusheng blinked, "sister will sneak off the bed at night."

"What are you talking about?" Ying Chanxi glared at her. "You're the one who wants to do it—why blame me?"

"I wouldn't sneak—I'd do it openly," Yan Zhusheng retorted.

"Alright, alright," Xu Youyu, still drowsy, yawned and waved her hand. "We're staying here for one or two weeks—just take turns every day. What's the big deal?"

(End of Chapter)